Gender bias in the workplace is not only an obstacle to equality – it is also a major stumbling block for businesses looking to optimise their performance. After all, stronger diversity and inclusion policies have been shown to spark innovation and to enhance commercial outcomes in numerous business areas. Higher proportions of women in leadership positions especially, and levels of inclusivity for female employees in general, are associated with superior rates of profit across a variety of metrics.

Despite this, gender bias persists in hiring across industries, with language use and organisational cultures routinely privileging male applicants and employees. Gender bias excludes or disadvantages roughly half the population, along with all the valuable talent therein – the impact this could have on your company’s performance cannot be overstated

It is therefore an excellent place to start if you want to create a more diverse and inclusive working environment whilst simultaneously improving your chances of finding and onboarding top candidates.

This tool is adapted from Kat Matfield's Gender Decoder for Job Ads based on: Danielle Gaucher, Justin Friesen, and Aaron C. Kay (2011), Evidence That Gendered Wording in Job Advertisements Exists and Sustains Gender Inequality (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, July 2011, Vol 101(1), p109-28).